I came across a couple pieces, one by Kareem Shaker and another by Derek Huether. They echoed some of my own sentiments about the real value of the PMI‘s PMP credential. [...]
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Here we come to, what I believe, is the single most destructive behaviour any project manager can demonstrate. The Reluctant Puppet is a project manager who wants to run a project the way he or she knows how, but who allows well-meaning stakeholders, sponsors or their own management to railroad them into a different approach.
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The project manager needs to be able to look into the future. It’s an incredibly valuable skill to look beyond a seemingly small, inconsequential decision, through the chain reaction of events that decision will trigger, to the results.
But the project manager can’t stop there. Whatever the PM sees, it’s imperative he or she be able to effectively communicate that vision to the project team. If they can’t or don’t, there will be nothing to stem the tide of events, and the consequences will come to pass. It’s unfortunate, but only the person with sight is in a position to take action.
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If you’re a Wanderer (like me /blush), you know well that nothing could be further from the truth. While you might look like your mind is wandering, you’re actually dealing with multiple crises in your head at the same time, and trying to sift through them at the same time you’re trying to pay attention to what’s happening around you. While your project team is waving their arms in front of you, and seemingly from a great distance shouting “hello! hello! Is anyone home?!”, you’re trapped inside your own head with multiple problems.
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Premature Solutioners make others crazy. It’s not just the clients who suffer. Everyone on the project team who has done any work on a solution that is inappropriate has to claw everything back and try to build a new solution based on whatever Frankenstein parts are left. The work has already been paid for, and now must be paid again. It doesn’t matter what type of contract exists… somebody, somewhere is paying for the rework.
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Welcome to part four of my series on destructive project management behaviours. Since this series began, I’ve tried to effectively cover project managers who can’t delegate properly (Sacks), project managers with extremely limited attention spans (Magpies), and project managers who can’t make decisions (Deer).
Using the “Destruct-O-Meter” scale, I’ve rated each one with a subjective scale that I think represents the amount of damage these behaviours do to a project under the control of the perpetrator.
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This is the third instalment of my series on destructive project manager behaviours. So far, we’ve talked about abdicating responsibility (the Sack), and failing to maintain momentum (the Magpie). Both of these behaviours hurt the projects the project manager is meant to control. Sacks, under the guise of “delegation”, give away the one thing they can control, and leave it up to others to carry them. Magpies, using “multitasking” as an excuse, tend to abandon work that that needs their attention when they see something shiny.
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Welcome to part two of my series on destructive project manager behaviours. Last time we looked at abdication of responsibility. I called a manager who demonstrated this “The Sack“, because they let themselves be carried along by others on their project. I rated the behaviour as “Dangerous”: a Sack basically cuts the head off his or her project, but because others invariably come to the rescue, collateral damage of this behaviour is lessened.
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I'm Geoff Crane. After 22 years in the trenches of a lot of tough projects, I decided to change direction a little bit and focus on sparking ideas in the vibrant field of project management.
If you're a project manager, or even if you're one voice in the project choir, you are in a position to be truly remarkable. Without exaggerating, you have within you the capacity to change the world, just because of who and where you are!
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